1. So you're standing there in front of a group of typical middle schoolers, and by definition each one lays somewhere on the developmental line between elementary level and high school. You've got kids reading at 4th grade levels and ones reading at 12th grade levels all in the same room. You've got kids playing Operation and those playing Doctor.
So how do you differentiate for this wide range of students without
creating 36 different lesson plans? How do you differentiate in a way
that doesn't burn you out of middle school entirely?
2. Do you think that technology has truly made a difference in the quality of teaching and learning within the core subject areas?
3. The concept of personalized learning can be overwhelming for teachers. In today's diverse classrooms, it's can be challenging to accommodate students with IEP's let alone take on the task of personalizing learning for all students. Yet we all know that students aren't widgets- they are individuals, and they all come to the classroom with strengths, weaknesses, challenges, different background and cultural experiences, let alone different developmental stages and abilities. We know personalized learning can be done, but it requires re-framing what a classroom looks like, and how it functions.What have been your biggest challenges or successes with implementing personalized learning or differentiated instruction in your classroom?
4. How would you complete, “If only more teachers would ........., more students would ........”?
5. Is differentiation fair?
6.Read over the handout on the Web page, “Making tiering “invisible.”
Comment on what stood out for you.
7. Is the proper goal of DI to overcome and resolve learning differences or to harness and cultivate them?